diff --git a/tests/tools/test_process_registry.py b/tests/tools/test_process_registry.py
index d981878a31..83059915e4 100644
--- a/tests/tools/test_process_registry.py
+++ b/tests/tools/test_process_registry.py
@@ -103,6 +103,134 @@ class TestGetAndPoll:
         assert result["exit_code"] == 0
 
 
+# =========================================================================
+# Orphaned-pipe reconciliation (issue #17327)
+# =========================================================================
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.platform == "win32", reason="POSIX-only: uses setsid/fcntl")
+class TestOrphanedPipeReconciliation:
+    """Regression tests for issue #17327.
+
+    `hermes update` in Feishu spawned a background subprocess that restarted
+    the gateway; the direct child exited quickly but a descendant daemon
+    held the stdout pipe open. `_reader_loop.finally` never ran, so
+    `session.exited` stayed False and the agent polled 74 times over 7
+    minutes, all returning `status: running`.
+
+    The fix is `_reconcile_local_exit()`: poll() and wait() now check the
+    direct `Popen.poll()` before trusting `session.exited`.
+    """
+
+    def test_reconcile_flips_exited_when_direct_child_done(self, registry):
+        """Direct child exited but reader thread is blocked on orphaned pipe."""
+        # Simulate the orphaned-pipe scenario: direct child exited, but a
+        # descendant holds stdout open so the reader never sees EOF.
+        # Approach: spawn `sh -c 'sleep 10 &'` with setsid — sh forks the
+        # sleep into a new session group, exits immediately, but sleep
+        # inherits the stdout pipe and keeps it open.
+        proc = subprocess.Popen(
+            ["sh", "-c", "exec 1>&2; ( sleep 30 ) & disown; exit 0"],
+            stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+            stderr=subprocess.STDOUT,
+            preexec_fn=os.setsid,
+        )
+
+        s = _make_session(sid="proc_orphan_test")
+        s.process = proc
+        s.pid = proc.pid
+        registry._running[s.id] = s
+
+        # Wait for the direct child to exit. We don't start a reader thread,
+        # so session.exited stays False (mimicking the stuck-reader state).
+        assert _wait_until(lambda: proc.poll() is not None, timeout=5.0), (
+            "Direct child should exit quickly (sh exits, sleep descendant "
+            "holds the pipe open)"
+        )
+
+        # Before the fix: poll would return "running" forever.
+        # After the fix: poll reconciles against proc.poll() and flips.
+        assert s.exited is False  # Precondition: reader hasn't updated it.
+        result = registry.poll(s.id)
+        assert result["status"] == "exited", (
+            f"Expected reconciled 'exited' status; got {result!r}. "
+            "This is issue #17327 — reader is blocked on orphaned pipe."
+        )
+        assert result["exit_code"] == 0
+        assert s.exited is True
+        assert s.id in registry._finished
+        assert s.id not in registry._running
+
+        # Clean up the orphaned descendant.
+        try:
+            os.killpg(os.getpgid(proc.pid), signal.SIGKILL)
+        except (ProcessLookupError, PermissionError):
+            pass
+
+    def test_reconcile_noop_when_child_still_running(self, registry):
+        """Reconcile must NOT flip exited when the direct child is alive."""
+        proc = _spawn_python_sleep(5.0)
+        s = _make_session(sid="proc_running_test")
+        s.process = proc
+        s.pid = proc.pid
+        registry._running[s.id] = s
+
+        result = registry.poll(s.id)
+        assert result["status"] == "running"
+        assert s.exited is False
+
+        proc.kill()
+        proc.wait()
+
+    def test_reconcile_noop_on_already_exited(self, registry):
+        """Reconcile is a no-op when session.exited is already True."""
+        s = _make_session(sid="proc_already_exited", exited=True, exit_code=7)
+        s.process = MagicMock()
+        s.process.poll = MagicMock(return_value=0)  # Would say exit 0
+        registry._finished[s.id] = s
+
+        registry._reconcile_local_exit(s)
+        # Must not overwrite the existing exit_code with proc.poll()'s 0.
+        assert s.exit_code == 7
+
+    def test_reconcile_noop_on_no_process(self, registry):
+        """Reconcile is a no-op for sessions without a local Popen (env/PTY)."""
+        s = _make_session(sid="proc_no_popen")
+        assert getattr(s, "process", None) is None
+        # Must not raise.
+        registry._reconcile_local_exit(s)
+        assert s.exited is False
+
+    def test_wait_returns_when_reader_blocked(self, registry):
+        """wait() must also reconcile — not just poll()."""
+        proc = subprocess.Popen(
+            ["sh", "-c", "( sleep 30 ) & disown; exit 0"],
+            stdout=subprocess.PIPE,
+            stderr=subprocess.STDOUT,
+            preexec_fn=os.setsid,
+        )
+
+        s = _make_session(sid="proc_wait_orphan")
+        s.process = proc
+        s.pid = proc.pid
+        registry._running[s.id] = s
+
+        assert _wait_until(lambda: proc.poll() is not None, timeout=5.0)
+
+        start = time.monotonic()
+        result = registry.wait(s.id, timeout=10)
+        elapsed = time.monotonic() - start
+
+        assert result["status"] == "exited", result
+        assert elapsed < 5.0, (
+            f"wait() should return ~immediately via reconcile; took {elapsed:.1f}s"
+        )
+
+        try:
+            os.killpg(os.getpgid(proc.pid), signal.SIGKILL)
+        except (ProcessLookupError, PermissionError):
+            pass
+
+
 # =========================================================================
 # Read log
 # =========================================================================
diff --git a/tools/process_registry.py b/tools/process_registry.py
index 479030120d..da5c8d224b 100644
--- a/tools/process_registry.py
+++ b/tools/process_registry.py
@@ -800,6 +800,78 @@ class ProcessRegistry:
             session = self._running.get(session_id) or self._finished.get(session_id)
         return self._refresh_detached_session(session)
 
+    def _reconcile_local_exit(self, session: "ProcessSession") -> None:
+        """Reconcile session.exited against the real child process state.
+
+        The reader thread (`_reader_loop`) sets `session.exited = True` only
+        in its `finally` block, which runs when `stdout.read()` returns EOF.
+        If the direct `Popen` child has exited but a descendant process (e.g.
+        a daemon spawned by `hermes update` restarting the gateway) is still
+        holding the stdout pipe open, the reader blocks forever and poll()
+        keeps returning "running" indefinitely (issue #17327 — 74 polls over
+        7 minutes on Feishu).
+
+        This helper closes that window: when `session.exited` is still False
+        but the direct child's `Popen.poll()` reports an exit code, drain any
+        readable bytes non-blocking and flip `session.exited`. The orphaned
+        reader thread remains stuck on its blocking `read()` but is a daemon
+        thread and will be reaped with the process.
+
+        Safe no-op on sessions without a local `Popen` (env/PTY), already-
+        exited sessions, and detached-recovered sessions.
+        """
+        if session is None or session.exited:
+            return
+        proc = getattr(session, "process", None)
+        if proc is None:
+            return
+        try:
+            rc = proc.poll()
+        except Exception:
+            return
+        if rc is None:
+            return  # Direct child still running — reader block is legitimate.
+
+        # Direct child exited. Try to drain any bytes the reader hasn't
+        # consumed yet. This is best-effort: if the pipe is held open by a
+        # descendant, the non-blocking read returns what's immediately
+        # available and we stop.
+        drained = ""
+        stdout = getattr(proc, "stdout", None)
+        if stdout is not None and not _IS_WINDOWS:
+            try:
+                import fcntl
+                fd = stdout.fileno()
+                flags = fcntl.fcntl(fd, fcntl.F_GETFL)
+                fcntl.fcntl(fd, fcntl.F_SETFL, flags | os.O_NONBLOCK)
+                try:
+                    chunk = stdout.read()
+                    if chunk:
+                        drained = chunk if isinstance(chunk, str) else chunk.decode("utf-8", errors="replace")
+                except (BlockingIOError, OSError, ValueError):
+                    pass
+                finally:
+                    try:
+                        fcntl.fcntl(fd, fcntl.F_SETFL, flags)
+                    except Exception:
+                        pass
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.debug("Non-blocking drain failed for %s: %s", session.id, e)
+
+        with session._lock:
+            if drained:
+                session.output_buffer += drained
+                if len(session.output_buffer) > session.max_output_chars:
+                    session.output_buffer = session.output_buffer[-session.max_output_chars:]
+            session.exited = True
+            session.exit_code = rc
+        logger.info(
+            "Reconciled session %s: direct child exited with code %s but reader "
+            "was still blocked (orphaned pipe). Flipped to exited.",
+            session.id, rc,
+        )
+        self._move_to_finished(session)
+
     def poll(self, session_id: str) -> dict:
         """Check status and get new output for a background process."""
         from tools.ansi_strip import strip_ansi
@@ -808,6 +880,10 @@ class ProcessRegistry:
         if session is None:
             return {"status": "not_found", "error": f"No process with ID {session_id}"}
 
+        # Reconcile against real child state before reading session.exited.
+        # Guards against orphaned-pipe reader hangs (issue #17327).
+        self._reconcile_local_exit(session)
+
         with session._lock:
             output_preview = strip_ansi(session.output_buffer[-1000:]) if session.output_buffer else ""
 
@@ -898,6 +974,10 @@ class ProcessRegistry:
 
         while time.monotonic() < deadline:
             session = self._refresh_detached_session(session)
+            # Reconcile against real child state — guards against orphaned-
+            # pipe reader hangs where the reader is blocked but the direct
+            # child has already exited (issue #17327).
+            self._reconcile_local_exit(session)
             if session.exited:
                 self._completion_consumed.add(session_id)
                 result = {